Shinshu Apple KitKat

I'm getting through these Japanese KitKats awful slowly! First there was Wasabi KitKat, which was also one of very first reviews - I didn't even take photos. It was so dreadful. Then there was Golden Citrus Blend, an interesting white chocolate and citrus flavor that was quite nice. Followed shortly thereafter by Matcha Green Tea KitKat, which tasted like a delicious matcha milkshake. Then my favorite, Pumpkin Pudding - which was pumpkin-ninny.

This one was quite interesting to me, and I thought it was high time I ate it rather than let it sit around for ages getting older and weirder in my Candy Drawer. Believe me, if you saw it you'd understand the capitalization. It is a proper name.

The wrapper is nice, as are all of the KitKats wrappers in Japan. Nice little photo-style illustration of what it is meant to taste like, and this one includes a very peaceful forest scene as well. D'aww.

This is a Shinsuku Limited edition, which is referring to that cool way some snacks are marketed in Japan as being exclusive to one region or another. I love that - it would make the entire world feel a bit like an RPG. If I had to travel to Cambridge to get a specific kind of Cadbury's chocolate, I'd be all over it. For whatever reason, it doesn't seem to translate anywhere else. The wide expanse of America is a good reason why it wouldn't work there (no one would drive 10 hours or take a plane just to try a Hershey's exclusive to Montana...except maybe me) but why not here, where I could be basically anywhere in about 3 hours? Who knows!

So the chocolate. It's not like I expected it to be! I'm used to the Japanese KitKats having sort of a subtle flavor, or at the very least a quite natural flavor - but this one was quite intense apple & a bit perfumey. Not as nice or natural as the Caramel Apple Milky Way, which surprised me. The chocolate flavor was there, so it wasn't like eating an apple candle or anything.

The fruit flavor was almost alcoholic, very syrupy & a lot like a cheaper apple liquor? It was okay, but the taste was more artificial than I expected and in that way was a bit of a let down. Chocolate & apple is hard to get right, because apple is naturally not a very strong flavor - they mostly just taste sweet. Chocolate will naturally over power it, so I think manufacturer's overdo it to make sure that it is noticed at all. I've had a couple that went alright, like the Milky Way and the Russell Stover Big Bite - but this one just didn't get the balance right. It's a shame, but there are tons of better Japanese KitKats out there to try!